Fake Christian: 6 Ways to Spot One
Fake Christian. Is there a way to identify one?
Would an albatross around their neck show a person’s spiritual condition? When Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote, “The Scarlett Letter”, an adulteress, Hester Prynne, wears an “A” around her neck to signify her sin. The author was on to something.
I once saw a Christian while shopping, acting like a fool. This regional Presbyterian officer ripped a clerk to shreds. The “Christian” wanted the clerk to stop and cater to her needs, on the spot—really?
Disgust rose up in me when this person was being a fake Christian in public. Do you agree that Christians should act differently when they confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior? I do.
On the flip side, Christians aren’t perfect and fail to do what Christ wants from them. No one arrives spiritually, but belonging to Christ should elevate your standards. Fake Christians stand out in the crowd when they don’t give a flip about Jesus or people. I’ve listed 6 ways how to spot a fake Christian.
You’re a Fake Christian When You Have Secret Sins
An increasing number of Christians view pornography and commit adultery. A Christian survey by ChristiaNet in 2011 showed that 50 percent of men and 20 percent of women watch porn regularly. Adultery and divorce are as high among Christians as non-believers.
Proverbs 6:25 cautions, “Do not desire her beauty in your heart, nor let her capture you with your eyelids.” Jesus made it clear in Matthew 5:28 that to gaze upon women or men with lust is climbing into bed with them “I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
You cheat on your spouse by lusting for others with your eyes and heart (see my book written for Christian men on how to stop). Yes, what Christians do in private is a harsh reality.
When Christians engage in these secret sins, destruction is on the way.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us (John 1:8-10).
Run from a secret sin into the presence of God. He restores you spiritually and stops Satan’s plan to kill, steal, and destroy. Seek out ministries such as Harvest USA for resources to help with sexual addictions.
A Fake Christian Talks Christianise and Doesn’t Know God
Have you been in the presence of Christians that are all talk and no do? They remind me of the Pharisees and Sadducees Jesus called vipers and whitewashed tombs.
These fake Christians walk among men with an air of authority. They have no power because they don’t connect to their source of spiritual influence—God. The following scriptures describe these people to a tee:
“And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of meis nothing but man-made rules learned by rote” (Isaiah 29:13).
They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work (Titus 1:16).
A Fake Christian Doesn’t Love People
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
Unfortunately, this scripture describes people in churches and ones outside. Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another.” Others will know us by our unmistakable love for people. Church members who help only themselves have wrong motives and do not represent God.
You’re a Fake Christian When You Have Idols
“You must not have any other god but me. Don’t make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. “(Exodus 20:3-4).
An idol is anything or anyone you give allegiance to other than God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Family members, things, jobs, a computer—these all take God’s place. Destroy the idols in your heart before they take over.
A Fake Christian Serves Satan’s Kingdom
“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
In a Christian’s life, there are two kingdoms, Satan’s and God’s. You serve one or the other. God at the bottom of the list, or worse yet not on the list, is problematic. If that happens, your flesh ratchets up your needs above anyone else’s.
You’re a Fake Christian If You Aren’t Bearing Fruit
Onlookers should see fruit in your life when you have a relationship with God the Father and Son through the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22 shows what Christians look like when they live close to God.
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.“
A maturing Christian obtains an abundance of this fruit because they connect to God regularly.
In Conclusion
In all honesty on some days, I feel like a fake Christian. All Christians seem like fakes at some point when they aren’t effective witnesses for Christ, their Savior. There is hope when you feel like a fake. God looks at your heart and alerts you when to make changes. Unless you’re a true fake Christian with the heart of a voracious wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing, God is ready to help. He stays silent until your heart changes and you seek Him to make changes.